The Garden is Rising!

It always thrills me when things start to appear in the gardens, even when I know they're there and will arise.  I am completely enamored of the baby bleeding hearts as they first poke through the dirt.  The purple color is amazing.  Don't they look like little sea anemones?

This was taken just last week, and by now they are pretty green curly leafy things - no more purple.  But their emergence is lovely!

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Stuff Against a Flaming Sky

On one of our evening spring rambles, we happened to be out during the whole of the sunset.  I took a bunch of photos that I like, showing various things against the changing, eventually flaming sky.

 
When we arrived home, we could see some large column of water off in the distance.  A little investigation let to our discovering that the Village fire department had gotten some new equipment, and was testing it out.  The massive jet of water looked especially impressive against the fiery sky.

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A Spring Stroll

It is such an incredible relief to have some warmer weather, finally.  Although, as I say that, it's raining, cold, dreary, drippy, and blowing.  Oh, happy spring.  At least we have been able to take advantage of the longer days and go for some after work strolls along the Erie Canal, even if they've been pretty sunless.

Simon, for one, is pretty much ecstatic about the lack of snow and cold.  He loves spring walks about as much as I do.  This is what tends to happen - Simon stops and whuffles with great intent, and then realizes he's fallen behind one human or the other, and takes off at a joyous sprint to catch up.

That expression is irrisistable, isn't it?  We wind up not keeping a very steady pace, because it seems like a shame to interrupt Simon's delighted ramblings and sprints.

Speaking of Simon running, all the bits of dog that flap when Simon runs are hilarious.  Check out the lips and ears:

I can't wait to take pictures of him running toward me on a sunny day, when I can get photos that aren't quite so grainy.

There's not a whole lot of green out yet.  The skunk cabbages are up, and we spotted a few violets and bloodroot, too.  But along the canal, that's about it.

Even all dressed in brown, the canal path is a lovely walk, though.

We found evidence of an overly ambitious beaver who moved through the area at some point in the past.

And since I love photos that mix industry and nature, I simply cannot resist shooting the old cars that rest along the trail.  At what point does garbage become old enough that it has charm?  Because these cars have crossed that line, at least for me.

About a mile down the canal path from our house, we come upon an opening that leads to an old landfill.  The landfill isn't active anymore, and thankfully doesn't smell bad.  At the top of one of the landfill slopes is a cell tower (at least I assume that's a cell tower).  To our delight, some osprey have nested on top of it this year!

No views of babies yet, but we could get a good look and mom and dad, while they warily eyed us back.

It's so nice to be back outside again, without having to bundle up to my eyeballs, and stuff hand-warmers in my mittens!

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I think I just got beaten by my own dog

So, you remember the fundraiser for Spay and Neuter Syracuse, called Pawcasso, that I blogged about a little while back?  To summarize, I donated a print of a painting I did of my dog.  I also donated a painting BY my dog, more specifically, a Basset hound ear painting:

Pawcasso 2011 was a lovely event, and there was an incredible number of pieces that had been donated by human and animal artists alike.  The donated art included paintings, photography, sculpture, prints, pottery, and fabric arts, and some of the contributing artists are extremely talented.  There were plenty of animal artists who contributed, too, including the expected dogs and cats, but also more exotic critters such as an elephant and a penguin.  There were also lots of other donations to the silent auction and raffles, ranging from gift certificates for everything from restaurants to car washes, and beautiful gift baskets. 

The venue was packed to the rafters, which is especially impressive when you consider the price of the tickets. There was barely room to navigate the bidding tables, and trying to do so with any kind of refreshment in your hand was certainly at your own risk of winding up wearing said refreshments.  It was wonderful to see so much community support for such a great organization.  I did plenty of bidding but got out-bid on most of the pieces I wanted.  I did, however, manage to acquire a painting by a humboldt penguin by stalking the bidding table right up to the minute before the silent auction closed:

I love those cute little penguin foot prints!

Simon's piece gave me a run for my money.  For a while the bidding was higher on Simon's painting than on my own.  I watched the bidding sheets with more anxiety than I would like to admit.  Apparently my ego did not want to have my artwork, which I had expended considerable time and effort on, sell for less than ear art by my dog.  I felt so relieved that my piece sold for considerably more in the end. 

Until last week, that is.  I got a call from the folks who sponsored the event to let me know that Simon won the award for "best animal art" for Pawcasso 2011.  *Sigh*.  I think my own dog just out-arted me!

Here's the budding artist, checking out his gift basket.  Too bad he's not a coffee drinker - looks like I shall have to appreciate the goods instead!

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